Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced onslaught on black money banning Rs. 500 and Rs.1,000 currency notes, the rush to nearby ATMs by hapless citizens turned into a nightmare with ATMs not dispatching money due to overload on servers.

Some ATMs dispensed merely Rs.100 notes that too if a customer opts for Rs.400 or less. All those in possession of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 can deposit the same in their bank and post office accounts from November 10 till December 30.

That means the country’s financial system will see havoc tomorrow with no ATMs and banks seeing big queues. This is perhaps a major hurdle for those who hit streets tomorrow with these banned notes in their pockets. If their money is legal, they can exchange it in banks or post offices.

Meanwhile, new currency notes of Rs.500 denomination and Rs.2,000 denomination will replace the old Rs.500 notes and the Rs.1000 denomination note will become redundant from tomorrow to be exchanged only in banks. Earlier, similar overnight ban on Rs.500 notes was imposed a decade ago to route out black money with mixed results.
Here are some major problems you face:

— Banks will be closed on November 9. No withdrawal of these notes from ATMs .

— You can deposit your legal Rs. 500, Rs. 1000 notes for exchange up to Rs.4000 till December 30 and after that only at Reserve Bank of India by providing a declaration until March 31, 2017.

— Government hospitals, pharmacies at hospitals will accept Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes for 72 hours from November 8 midnight.

— Cash drawals from ATMs will be restricted to ₹ 2,000 per day after re-opening them on Nov.10. Cash withdrawals from bank accounts, over the bank counters, will be restricted to a limited amount of ₹ 10,000 per week.

— Post offices, bannks will open new or additional counters and work for more hours.

— Banks will share information with Income Tax Dept. on exchange of banned notes for legal ones.

— Control room of RBI in Mumbai – 022 22602201, 22602944 can be contacted though there is likely to be huge rush and inconvenience.

The move has been defended to counter black money, said Modi. “Counterfeit currencies are being used for financing terrorism. Our security measures have not been breached. This is a powerful measure to combat terrorism. Govt. has taken many measures in last two years. This will go a long way. Fake currencies corrode economy,” said Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das.

Modi cited “terrorsists from across the border” as the main reason behind banning counterfeit currency notes.
He added that his government is dedicated to the poor, and will continue to do so, giving little reason to explain how people can survive almost one full day without cash in their hands.

The move will give boost to the age-old faith in gold in India by the middle class and gold rate may go up further with the move. Black money, however, will erode in value by almost half with the measure.